COURSE DESCRIPTION: Race, class and gender have emerged during the past two decades as
central to the study of canonical British Romantic poetry. This seminar
examines the major Romantic poetic texts in relation to a complex of issues authorial
voice, imagery patterns, symbolism, structuring principles, and ideological
configurations that can be read differently when one takes race,
class, and gender into consideration. More specifically, we will examine
the issue of slavery and abolition, the class anxieties caused by rapid
industrialization, and the use of the feminine as representation in texts
written by Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Byron, and Shelley. We will also read poetry and prose written by
the women who were writing at the same time. Some of the texts we will read will include Mary Robinson, The Natural Daughter, Walter Scott,
Waverley
, Sydney Owneson, The Missionary, and Caroline Lamb’s Glenavron.

Robinson, A Letter to the Women of Englandand Natural Daughter (Broadview)

Sydney Owenson, The Missionary (Broadview)

Caroline Lamb,
Glenavron(Tuttle/Everyman)

COURSE OBJECTIVES: In addition to introducing students to a variety of romantic-era texts,
the major goal of this course is to increase your professionalism as a literary
critic and scholar, and to that end you will be given practice in mastering a
number of professional academic genres (i.e., the timed academic examination,
the scholarly article, the conference paper, etc.). Requirements include
an avid interest in sharing your ideas and insights with the class, a
conference-length paper (8-9 pages), a longer research paper (15 pages), and
one oral report on secondary readings and research presented to class.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course will examine the literature written by
British poets, dramatists, and fiction writers during the period of
Britain=s involvement
with the transatlantic slave trade through the emancipation of slaves in the
British empire in 1833. We will use an
anthology to survey the poetry written by abolitionist writers, as well as
those who supported the institution of slavery in the colonies. In addition to studying primary literary
texts, students will also read and prepare reports on the social, political,
economic, legal, and religious is
sue s that
provided the context for slavery in
Britain. This course
will provide the necessary historical and cultural background for explaining
how slavery originated and the role that
Britain
played in influencing
America
's adoption of
slavery. Further, ARomanticism and Race@ will provide
students with a fuller perspective on how slavery was a contested site from its
very beginnings, and the role that literary writers played in eventually ending
the practice in
England.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

1. To
develop a clearer sense of the history of slavery in the Western world;

2. To
understand how literature functions in a society in the service of both
reaction and reform; to understand how what it means to be “human” is
constructed in different cultures for specific economic and social reasons; to
appreciate how America and Great Britain participated in a cross-cultural
dialogue on the issues
of slavery and emancipation.

3. To
conduct research related to the issue of slavery in the
British empire and to relate that research to primary literary texts (poetry, drama, or
fiction) in your own written work;

4. To
present a group oral report to the class that addresses one is
sue of special interest to you. To design
that report using visual resources, music, or supplementary materials.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS: an in-class essay midterm exam (25%
of final grade); a 10-page research paper (25% of final grade); a group-oral
report to the class based on research (25% of final grade); and a take-home
final essay exam (25% of final grade).

ATTENDANCE POLICY: This course subscribes to the MU
College of
Arts and Sciences attendance policy. After
five absences your final grade will be lowered one-half grade. After three more absences it drops another
half-grade. After a total of nine
absences you will be withdrawn from the course.

February 5: “The Two Marys: Two Views of
Slavery”: 30 min video. Video focuses on
Maria Nugent, slave owner, and Mary Prince, slave in
Jamaica
. Prince’s
narrative is taken from her dictated story published the London Anti-Slavery
League.

February 10: EBBW: Wedderburn,
204-232

February 12: Course packet: Olympe de Gouges,
“Black Slavery, or the Happy Shipwreck”

English 171 syllabus, p. 4

March 18: James Boswell, No Abolition of Slavery; or the
universal empire of love, 283; Anna Letitia Barbauld, "Epistle to William Wilberforce, Esq.
On the rejection of the bill for abolishing the slave trade," 421; John
Walsh, 436

March 23: Elizabeth Benger, 620; George Dyer, On Considering the unsettled state of
Europe, and the opposition which has been made to attempts for the abolition of
the slave‑trade, 626; Bernard Barton, 665; William Hamilton, 681

March 25: CLASS
CANCELLED, BUT YOU MUST ATTEND ONE SESSION OF THE WOMEN AND CREATIVITY
CONFERENCE

March 30: AG: all poems by William
Blake, 382

April 1: AG: all poems by William
Wordsworth, 583

April 6: AG: The Scene in
Jamaica and the British West Indies: anonymous, 80; all selections by Bryan Edwards, 131; Singleton, 166; anonymous,
272

April 13: AG: “Ode: The Insurrection of
the Slaves at St. Domingo, 438; James Montgomery, 613; all pieces by Joshua Marsden, 647

April 15: Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin

April 15: UTC

April 20: guest lecture by Dr. Amy Blair on Uncle Tom’s Cabin

April 22: UTC

April 27: S. I. Martin, Incomparable
World, 8-100

April 29: World, 101-213

English 171 syllabus, p. 5

May 4: final oral reports

May 6: course evaluations, summations

ENGLISH 171: ROMANTICISM AND RACE

ORAL REPORT TOPICS

1. A report on the “neo-slave narrative,”
postmodern attempts to rewrite the slave experience in a contemporary novel. Some examples are Beryl Gilroy, Stedman
and Joanna (1991) and Caryl Phillips,
Cambridge
(1991).

2.
A report on slave women in the British West
Indies: sources include Lucille Mathurin, The Rebel Woman in the British West Indies
during Slavery (1975), Barbara Bush, Slave Women in Caribbean Society;
Hilary Beckles, Natural Rebels: A Social History
of Enslaved Black Women in Barbados.

3.
The visual depictions of slaves, the slave trade, or
the eroticization of Black slaves in paintings. How and why were slaves portrayed? Did their portrayal change over the century?

4.
Theories of physiognomy and racial superiority: how were scientific theories of the time used
to justify the continuation of slavery?

8.
The Black as encoded in romantic poetry, either
overtly or covertly

9.
Perform scenes from Yarico and Inkle and explain the story’s popularity

ENGLISH 171; ROMANTICISM AND RACE

RESEARCH PAPER TOPICS

THE FOLLOWING ARE LARGE,
BROAD CATEGORIES FOR STUDY. YOU WOULD
HAVE TO NARROW CONSIDERABLY ANY OF THESE TOPICS, BUT THESE ARE THE GENERAL
AREAS OF STUDY YOU SHOULD BE CONSIDERING:

1. A theoretical examination of slavery (its
philosophical defenses)

2. A historical examination of slavery

3. A theological examination of slavery

4. A literary history of slavery

5.
The slave trade in
England
and the
British West Indies

6. The role of women in the slave trade

7. How literature influenced the abolition movement

8. A history of slave rebellions (the Maroons, Obeah,
etc)

9. The artistic depiction of slaves in paintings and
sculpture

10.
Specific poets and their literary depictions of the
evils or advantages of slavery

11.
The role of popular dramas in spreading attitudes
toward slavery

12.
The role and problematics of
“told-to” autobiographies (Prince, etc)

13.
The newspaper portrait of Thomas Jefferson and “Sally”

14.
Your choice: if
you want to explore something that is radically different from anything on this
list, please consult me first before beginning your research.

ENGLISH 171: ROMANTICISM AND RACE

TAKE-HOME MIDTERM EXAMINATION

DUE IN CLASS –
MARCH
4, 2004

This midterm is an essay exam, with two essays
required. Each essay should be 3-4 typed
pages, with a clear thesis, supporting paragraphs that use specific passages or
quotations, and a conclusion that restates your thesis. Each essay is worth 50%.

PART ONE: ANSWER ONE
QUESTION FROM THIS GROUP OF QUESTIONS.

Heavy use of Biblical language
and images is one of the most dominant rhetorical strategies used by the
slave narratives. Select two of the
narratives (Gronniosaw; Jea; Cugoano; Equiano; or Wedderburn) and compare and contrast HOW they use this
imagery and WHAT IT ACCOMPLISHES in their manipulation of their readers.

The slave narratives also use
anecdotal evidence or the powerful vignette in order to persuade their
readers of the evils of slavery. Select three to four specific vignettes in any of the slave
narratives, and analyze them closely for their strategic effectiveness.

Wedderburn’s The Axe Laid to the Root is an example of what is called “mulatto
discourse.” Read Helen Thomas’s
essay on the subject in our textbook (pp. 409-27) and outline her main
points about this discourse. Then
apply her insights to your own reading of Wedderburn.

PART TWO: ANSWER ONE
QUESTION FROM THIS GROUP OF QUESTIONS

Olympe de Gouges’s sentimental drama “Black Slavery, or the Happy Shipwreck” can be interpreted
through historical, ideological, or psychological strategies. Choose one of these approaches to the
text and provide an interpretation of the drama. HINT: research in secondary sources is necessary if you choose historical
or psychological approaches. Several websites on this is
sue
have been linked to our class site.

One of the central debates in
abolitionist poetry is the use of appropriation or ventriloquism. Analyze this is
sue
by examining the poetry of More, Opie, Cowper,
and Robinson.

Sentimental poetic devices were
used in the service of the abolition cause, particularly by white authors,
in an effort to humanize slaves. Choose a constellation of four to six poems and analyze how the
poets employ a variety of sentimental tropes (family, mother and child,
love of home, interracial love) to advance the cause of abolition of
slavery.

ENGLISH 171: ROMANTICISM AND RACE

TAKE-HOME FINAL EXAMINATION

DUE AT MY OFFICE—COUGHLIN 247 –no later than
noon
on
MAY
7, 2004

This final is an essay exam, with two essays required. Each essay should be 3-4 typed pages, with a
clear thesis, supporting paragraphs that use specific passages or quotations,
and a conclusion that restates your thesis. Each essay is worth 50%.

PART ONE: ANSWER ONE
QUESTION FROM THIS GROUP OF QUESTIONS.

A.
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin relies on several literary conventions we identified earlier in abolitionist
poetry and slave narratives: sentimental idealization of the mother and child
bond, the polluting effects of slavery on both master and slave, the precarious
position of the mulatto, the complicated use of the Bible to attack or justify
slavery, etc. Select at least three of
these devices, and show how Stowe uses these conventions to full advantage in
her novel.

B.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin has actually been accused on racism and Stowe has been denounced as
perpetuating racist stereotypes throughout the novel. Summarize the attacks on the book (see
particularly pp. Xx-xxi in our book) and then either support Stowe or show how
her support of colonization in
Africa
and her characterizations of blacks are forms of
unconscious racism.

Part Two: ANSWER ONE QUESTION FROM THIS GROUP OF
QUESTIONS:

A.
S. I. Martin’s novel Incomparable World isan
example of a “neo-slave narrative,” a postmodern work that attempts to capture
the reality of the slave situation, while still aware that the present can
never fully articulate the full complexity of the past. Neo-slave narratives by necessity have to
employ ventriloquism and appropriation. How successful in your opinion is Incomparable World as a
neo-slave narrative? In other words,
given what you have read in the original slave narratives of Equiano et al., how accurately do you think Martin’s
portrayal of their situation is?

B. The Vauxhall incident (pp. 149-165) in many
ways represents the core of the novel Incomparable World. Several events, characters, and revelations
are revealed at that incident, all causing the subsequent actions that are
taken by a number of characters in the rest of the novel. Analyze closely that section of the text, and
explicate how it works to center the novel around the
is
sue
of miscegenation.

1. An oral presentation delivered to the class; worth 25% of final grade

2. A short written examination; due July 19 and worth 25% of final grade

3. An extended research paper; due August 12 and worth 50% of final grade

July 6: Introduction to course;
objectives and requirements; video introduction to Austen

July 7: Austen, S & S

July 8: Austen, S & S

July 12: Austen, S & S

July 13: Fenwick, Secresy

July 14: Fenwick, Secresy

July 15: Fenwick, Secresy

July 19: Hays, Victim; short
written exam due in class

English 235, p. 2

July 20: Hays, Victim

July 21: Hays, Victim

July 22: Hays, Emma

July 26: Hays, Emma

July 27: Hays, Emma

July 28: Opie, Adeline

July 29: Opie, Adeline

August 2: Opie, Adeline

August 3: Shelley, Frankenstein,
vol. 1

August 4: Shelley, Frankenstein,
vol. 2

August 5: Shelley, Frankenstein,
vol. 3

August 9: Shelley, Mathilda, cc. 1-6

August 10: Shelley, Mathilda, cc. 7-12

August 11: Shelley, short fiction

August 12: final paper due

SAMPLE
QUESTIONS TO BE USED FOR TIMED EXAM:

1.
You have been asked to write a twenty page (ca. 6,000 word)
introduction to a college edition of ONE of the works listed below. You
can't do all this here in an hour, but you can lay out a sketch or plan for
your essay, telling us what you would like to put into it and an explanation of
the order and importance of the topics you would expect to cover.

The
following questions (topics) are intended only as suggestions and not as an
outline to be followed. Some may be of little relevance to the work you
select. Other topics than these may occur to you.

What
sort of biographical matter would you include?

What
account would you give of the social background of the work economic,
political, religious, legal, etc.?

Would
you make especial use of any one or more definable theoretical
approaches?

Sense
and SensibilityA
Victim of PrejudiceAdeline Mowbray

2.
Romantic women's fiction has sometimes been seen as serving a quasi‑political
or philosophical function; it has attempted to provide not entertainment so
much as political and philosophical instruction, "values formation,"
or even a kind of secular salvation. Discuss this aspect of the fiction
of TWO of the following: Hays; Opie; Austen; Shelley.

3.
Georges Gusdorf has recently argued that
autobiography arose in the eighteeenth century out of
a combined Christian and Romantic belief in the value and uniqueness of the
individual life. Structurally, he asserts, "autobiography requires a
man to take a distance with regard to himself in order to reconstitute himself
in the focus of his special unity and identity across time" and is thus
"a second reading of experience," one that "is truer than the
first because it adds to experience itself consciousness of it."
Apply Gusdorf's formulation of autobiography as
"a second reading of experience" to the writings of Mary Hays or Mary
Shelley.

4.
Anne Mellor has stated that "Romanticism" as a literary movement will
only be fully understood when we have examined both what she calls
"masculine Romanticism" and its counterpart "feminine
Romanticism." The latter movement, she asserts, is characterized by
a belief in a self that is fluid, responsive, with permeable ego boundaries, an
emphasis on the family as the grounding trope of social organization, a
commitment on an ethic of care (as opposed to an ethic of individual justice),
and the sense of Nature as a friend or sister. Mellor chooses to depict
Keats as an exponent of "feminine Romanticism" and Emily Bronte as an
exponent of "masculine Romanticism." Can Mellor's theory be
applied to the fiction of Austen, Hays, Fenwick, Opie,
or Shelley. Can
you make a case for the distinctively "feminine" characteristic of their
fictions?

5.
Alan Liu has noted that where the Romantic writer says "I" he really
means "history." How does the personal attempt to cover over or
displace the social, political, and cultural in Emma Courtney?
Discuss at least four specific examples of the "personal" in this
text and then analyze its full "historical" contexts.

4.
Ann Radcliffe and the gothic novel tradition were
pervasive influences on all of the the Romantic women
novelists. Discuss how gothic images, themes, and concerns emerge in Secresy and Mathilda.

5. Sensibility as a literary tradition spans the
eighteenth century, reaching a mock apotheosis in Jane Austen's Sense and
Sensibility. Review the critical
positions on the novel's history and reception, and then present a clear
position on the novel by reading it within the rich and ambivalent tradition of
Sensibility.

6. Gary Kelly argues that eighteenth- and
nineteenth-century women writers participated in their society's broad cultural
project: the construction of the bourgeoisie. Specifically, he claims that women writers attempted, like their
middle-class male counterparts, to create a professional middle-class discourse
system that would supplant the aristocracy at the same time that it gained
control over the lower classes. According to Kelly, women writers produced works that "constituted
a certain technology of the self that we now recognize as 'virtue' and
'reason.'" Apply this insight to a
group of texts written by women during this period--Mary Hays, Eliza Fenwick,
Jane Austen, or Amelia Opie--are all possibilities,
but the choice of authors and titles is yours.

SUGGESTED
TOPICS FOR ORAL REPORTS

1. Jane Austen as a "feminist": this debate has been raging for several years
now. See Marilyn Butler's JA and the
War of Ideas for one side of the issue

2. the epistolary novel
tradition: its decline and fall.

3. sensibility as a
literary concept; sentimentalism as a literary concept